Adam Larter splatters onto his stage like paint from Jackson Pollock’s paintbrush, ungainly and definitely not graceful as he crashes all over the place. Roller skates, gold sequins and a kilt seal the first impression. For the second impression: Gary Rhodes, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Darth Vader and Gordon Brown. All at once. Yes, seriously, he then attempts to throw together as many impressions as he can, over-reaching his potential as he tries to cram them all in. They may have been impressions, but they didn’t impress.
Then he starts really tolling with the New Year’s theme - though now he’s ditched the rollerskates - clumsily doing a ‘Firework’ dance.
This is one of those shows that revels in being awful, and the audience travelled past bad and worse to come out in a limbo land where all they could do was laugh. He works the room well for sympathy and its-so-bad-its-funny mirth, which he earns. Truth be told though, his whole act, from his earnest voice, wide eyes, mountains of props and costumes, would be better suited for a young audience. If you feel like watching a young lad trying to hold up a metaphorical circus with slapstick and lots of audience participation, he will make you laugh. However, without a young - or at least immature - audience, Larter’s Happy New Year will fall as flat as he does in his skates.
